The Americas

Brazil's gangs

Time's up

ONE WEEK after drug dealers and gangsters started a campaign of arson and robbery in Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian security forces have entered the Complexo do Alemão, a group of 12 favelas (shantytowns) where the ringleaders are hiding, in an effort to reassert the state's control over the area. Around 2,700 police and soldiers began laying siege to the slums on November 25th, and gave their adversaries a deadline of sunset on November 27th to surrender. This morning, they stormed the neighbourhood, and met surprisingly little resistance, as some of the criminals fled to the hills above. Among the 30 or so arrested so far is a gang leader known as Zeu, who was wanted for the torture and murder of Tim Lopes, an investigative journalist, in 2002.

The wave of violence started on the night of November 20th, when the gangs began hijacking and burning cars and buses to cause fear and disruption. Since then over 40 people have been killed—mostly suspected traffickers, but also some innocent bystanders, including children, who have been hit by stray bullets. The authorities believe that the attacks were a reprisal for their gradual retaking of the lawless favelas in recent years, by expelling drug dealers and gang members one slum at a time, and preventing their return by installing permanent “Pacification Police Units”, or UPPs. Even though barely a dozen of the hundreds of favelas have been reclaimed so far, the drug lords are clearly already feeling the pinch. Police say a note found by a burning bus on November 24th explicitly linked the campaign, the UPPs and the 2016 Olympics, due to be held in Rio: “with UPPs, no Olympics”, it read.

The city has responded with overwhelming force to a threat that its mayor, Eduardo Paes, has described as terrorism. It has called in its off-duty police and put those with desk jobs on the streets, while turning to the federal government for military firepower and help controlling the major routes to and from the city. On November 24th the police raided Vila Cruzeiro, another large favela. Broadcast live by Globo, a television network, which had moved its helicopter from São Paulo to film the action in Rio, some hundreds of gang members were seen toting weapons and ammunition from Vila do Cruzeiro to Complexo do Alemão, where they then holed up. The implication that the city's normally warring drug gangs were teaming up to fight the government (Amigos dos Amigos have their headquarters in Vila do Cruzeiro; Comando Vermelho in Complexo do Alemão) was worrying. But after a fierce but short shoot-out, lasting around half an hour, the siege was over.

Down on the “asphalt”, as favela-dwellers often refer to the swish seafront areas, after a few shaky days with businesses closing early and taxis hard to find, life is by now pretty much back to normal. “Nothing to do with here,” said one resident; another said she was lunching inside restaurants, rather than on their terraces, at least for now. But there was general approval. Many locals referred to the action as a long-overdue “civil war”. The governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Sergio Cabral, was recently re-elected easily for a second term in part because of his plans to improve public safety.

What seems new is that the residents of the favelas themselves seem to be welcoming the police. Not that they are particularly keen on the gangsters and militias who rule their neighbourhoods, but the police, who tend to mount violent hunt-and-search operations with little care for bystanders and then pull out again, have managed to be even less popular. That seems to be changing as the UPPs stay put. Favela-dwellers appear to be slowly allowing themselves to hope that this time, when politicians and police say they are here to help, they mean it for more than the short term.

The reality on public security on Rio de Janeiro is its complete failure from a social point of view .Firstly there is a quite complex mixing of criminality and social revolt, like the present poor people familiar highly debt fueled by the Lula government's policy (Bus fares in Rio de Janeiro are surely quite expencive for those peole living with US$ 300 by month!) besides of deep “shantytowns People” frustration in knowing that all billionaires investments on Cup, Olympics and Royalties (the last coming from the Oil extracted Rio de Janeiro off shore ) are going to be applied in the most rich City’s districts like the Barra and Leblon-Ipanema huge extremely rich Area (Very rich by any international standard of comparasion !). And apparently nothing consistent and lasting will be done in the poorest Rio de Janeiro areas like Nova Iguaçu, Favelas, Rocinha (the last shantytown Rocinha with more than two millions of black and poor people from Brazil North, the so called “Paraibas” –mostly formed by youth and children!).By secondly , The politics corruption on Rio the Janeiro has its armed arm on criminal activities like the 1)-“Milicia” (a fearful , brutal and never punished Paramilitary group of thousands of corrupt military mans and women’s from the Military Quarters and Air Bases localized in the Rio de Janeiro Estate added with uncountable corrupt members of the Policeman Federal and State Corps selling private "Protection" against the street gang criminals and Drug dealers ).2)The “ Jogo do Bicho e Máquinas Caças Níqueis” (Illegal Lottery and small Casinos accepted by the Authorities) –The main fuel of the streets criminality on Brazil big cities, including the drug commerce ) and finally ,3) the heavily armed Drug dealers gangs with its heavily international connection (FARCS, Miami Mafia ,etc..) and powrful protection from the Political “Capos” .It is worth to point out that most of its armaments and well trained “combatants” come directly from “Leasing” of Military Quarters nearby the Rio de Janeiro Hills –Shantytowns .
The point is: If Rio de Janeiro Society really want to curb the unbelievable and disastrous growing of criminality and civil unrest on its shantytowns , there is only one path: Turn the city slums-shanty towns in Workers districts at least!. Hypocrisy and Lies always lead to disaster without point of no return.

The illegal drugs trade worldwide amounts to US$321.6 billion per year by UN figures. Obviously this is not a Brazilian problem or phenomenon, and is also obvious that prohibition is not containing the production, or the distribution and neither the consumption of those illegal drugs nowhere in the world.

The raw violence in connection to drug dealing in Rio de Janeiro is the result of the total State failure to assist and protect the poor, ignorant and vulnerable, and to reward those who are honest and productive. In Brazil, a country where the people worships the State, the State is incompetent, corrupt and self serving.

In my point of view the drug trade should be totally legalized from the production to the point of consumption, and then regulated down to situations when the severely addicted could have free drugs with a medical prescription, to be dispensed in a public hospital.

We should do to drugs exactly the same we did to alcohol. The rest is education and parenting.

The problem is that those who make the above mentioned US$321.6 billion per year are not going to let it happen because then Peru, Colombia, Bolivia and Afghanistan would lose their main source of income, many politicians would lose financing for their campaigning, the banks would lose fat “investors”, and the city of London, among other “financial” centers, would lose too much trade.

I live in RJ and we are right now seeing a staggeringly positive response from the population to this "military" approach. However, let us not forget that Complexo do Alemão was similarly overrun with cops and soldiers in 2007, and nothing changed much in the area in the aftermath - on the opposite, the druglords returned with a more strong presence than before. The local media (along with local Government) is exulting this approach as the "final solution" to the immediate violence problem. A more interesting question is how exactly the situation got so much out of control in Mr. Sergio Cabral latest tenure as Governor (he was, surprisingly, reelected to another term), with thugs commiting rampant crimes for almost a week without proper police response on the matter - nobody in RJ calls the police in these situations since our "911" is virtually useless. Maybe police rampant corruption and low wages, along with the complete absence of minimum welfare planning for the lower classes (where the kingpins recruit their soldiers), are a more clear explanation to the present situation, which goes far deeper than the current Government and its local media "cheerleaders" are right know interested in discuss.

Dear Sir
Some corrections :
Exchange expencive by expensive;powrful by powerful ;"If Rio de Janeiro Society really want to curb the unbelievable...",exchange by If Rio de Janeiro Society really wants to curb the unbelievable.
Thank you

Try and curb your enthusiasm amigo. The estimated population of Rocinha is 120,000, not 2 million.

Some of your other points I think are exaggerated as well. Whilst I'm not belittling the problems that Rio faces, I believe the city, as the country as a whole, is moving in the right direction.

Some of the problems facing Brazil, and many other countries, will take years, maybe decades to solve. But you have to start, and Brazil has started.

This week Rio said "enough is enough". I have been moved by the reaction of the residents of some of these areas, some putting themselves at risk to dob-in criminals. That is where your base for change is, the people, and they have shown great Brazilian courage this week.

Some remarks: Military police and civil police are under the Governor subordination, not the mayor. Maybe your report lost an angle of the government action: so far no milicias people were arrested. there seem s to be a merge of drug dealers and milicias all around the state of rio de janeiro. The police seem to be taking sides with the milicias and exterminating the rival durg gang thus favoring the milicia and the allied drug dealers.
This operation seemed to aim to make public the arrest of hundreds of small drug dealers, mostly for Tv audineces. It did not went that way. Now they have to swip over 30 thousnad dewelings looking for criminals.

Maybe you also missed the obvious links of rio de janiro politicians with these criminals. Something another comment, maybe.

Fabio C
You - and The Economist - are advocating for the legalization of drugs.
Is a matter of intelectual honesty: who will finance the consumers an their accrued cost?
Drugs are bad for the mental health, impair the ability to work and if legalized, even more consumed. Who, in the long run, will have money to buy drugs? We are talking of population, not some 0,4 % of the population who is rich and live on rents. Alas, they already have lawyers who "legalize" their consuption.
Unless drugs are very cheap - like the Cachaca in Brazil, which cost One Dollar a littre after taxes - people will plant their own cannabis, poppies and the likes. The facts are clear. In your hiphothesis of legal drugs, it should be very cheap.
If legal drugs are cheap, there is no revenue for taxation. With no taxation, who will pay for the damages drugs do to society?
Alcohol and nicotin pay over 60% of their retail price in tax in Brazil. What will be the taxation over drugs? If drug tax is high, there will be trafficking again, as it happens in Amsterdam. So...
Reality will strike back and your hyphothesis of cheap drugs do not stand. Drugs will be expensive. Why? Because the administration of the drugs will be organized - or will it be a freemaket? Who will protect the consumers? Learn from China opium consumption. There is a baseline price for drugs.
Drugs will more likely to be expensive. Tell me how drugs will be cheap. I do not know how. Someone will have to give up profits. The producer will sell only to government? At what prices? Who will make the price? A drugs market? Them, in this case, production will be free for any farmer. Regulated? So the price will be high. Government will garantee 100% purchase? Yes, who will foot the bill? If there is a surplus not purchsed, Hayek teaches us there will be a second distribution channel: trafficking.
Honest. How to legalize drugs?
Most likely the drugs will be distributed through dispensaries, like there were in the Mersey side in the UK late last century. Thus financing dispensaries will be an issue. And again, if dispensaries are difficult, there will be traffickig. Who will pay for this cost? Who is elligible to get drugs on the dispensary?
Will we give the drugs away to the consumers? Wait!! Smoking cigarrets are harmful to one's health. Thus, nobody can give away samples of cigarrets in Brazil. It is the law. No free marijuana for Brazilians. Cocaine is also bad for ones heart, so no free coke.

Another factor is that the need for cash to buy drugs is one of the origins of crime. People attack their own homes and family and after blowing it up, go on to other crimes. What are we going to do with these criminals? Jail them of course. This again cost money.

Explain - in honest epistemology - how to legalize drugs. Do not bring sophisms and fantastic hyphothesis. Just plain intelectual honesty in this actual world we live.

Im from Rio, this article was well writen. This was an unsual week for us, I know we have the fame of being a dangerous city, but never saw the things getting at this point, slums taken were the head-quarter of 2 of 3 biggest factions here.

We already have been hosting great events for a long time, as Carnaval or New Years Eve, so, I dont think Rio will have a problems with terrorism, becouse this war is for money, not ideology, so even the drug dealers know bad publicity in these times will be worst for him in a near future. They wont make a statement just to show power, they think in profits terms.

When they need show power, they dont take hostages in slums or kill people on the streets, they burn buses or cars, even holding AK-47, FAL or M-16. As the article said, 'they stormed the neighbourhood, and met surprisingly little resistance'.

Armed forces can contain the drug dealers for days, weeks, or even months. But unless you kill the roots - huge poverty - they will rise again and again. However it is important to check the growth of gangs, or you will end up as Mexicans - with cartels' strength equal to government's strength.

For us who actually live in Rio de Janeiro and have to cope with the drug users and their suppliers, this is welcome news. At last the price of drugs that the beautiful people snort at the beachfront will increase.

There is drug trafficking just because there are consumers. Penalize consuming of drugs and trafficking will diminish. I do not care if they are jailed or taken to a clinic. They are part of the criminal chain. In Brazil, drug consuming is crime. Article 16th Lei nº 6.368/1976. Read the penal code. Be on the know.

The Economist fails - intentionally for sure - to connect this event to the general elections in Brazil. Up to the elections, the police was on the favelas doing UPPs, but they were with a laissez faire agenda. The drug lords were selling copious amount of drugs in front of the police. No seizure of drugs, no prisons. Don't ask, don't tell. There were rules: "Nobody rocks the boat". No point of sales takeover from competing drug lords. No killings in front of the UPPs.

Someone has broken the deal. Who? I guess is that there are too many debts from the political campaign and the drug dealers did not deliver. The drug lords have financed the campaign of many politicians. The FARC from Colombia is active in Rio, trading cocaine for guns or cash.

Since 1982, when Brizola was governor of Rio de Janeiro police was not going up the hills to seize drugs. Governor orders. The drug lords have stablished themselves on the hills and in society.

Your correspondent is too compromized to tell the truth, because Brizola was allegedly a leftist.

Now we shall see what happens in the Alemao.

The television showed over 200 men fleeing from Vila Cruzeiro in a shootout with the police/army. There was occupation of the Alemao. There should be a minimum of 400 criminals at Alemao. Only 50 were arrested. The remainder 350 are free. The police has seized some 40 Tons of drugs. This was left behind. But there were seized only 70 guns, amongst old rifles and revolvers. Only cheap stuff too heavy to carry.

The drug dealers will resume business in some of the other 100 favelas in the Rio de Janeiro. And the people at Alemao will live in fear that the drug lords return and the police will go away. Whoever has collaborated with the police will be killed.

@Ed Deep. "Drugs are bad for the mental health, impair the ability to work and if legalized, even more consumed."

Alcohol is bad for the mental health, impair de ability to work and even though is legalized not everyone is alcoholic and none consume it whilst working, everyone is aware of that but the very stupid. Will you become a drug user if tomorrow you find out that you can buy crack in the pharmacy around the corner? I hardly think so, neither will I and the vast majority of people.

On the other hand and as I said before, prohibition is not keeping anybody from consuming drugs. All those who want it will have it. The US is fighting this war on drugs since late 80’s and early 90’s; the US Army has been throughout South America, God knows for how long, fighting drug production:

1 – Have they achieved ANY result? NO! Except to increase the sales of military hardware and “expertise”.

2 – Have the price of cocaine, crack and weed gone up due to scarcity? NO! Much to the contrary, it has come down due to the wide availability.

3 – Has the war and occupation of Afghanistan stopped the production of opium? NO! Much to the contrary, it has INCREASED.

Where does all the money go? US$136 billion every year; do you think it goes under the drugs dealer mattress? The only thing prohibition is doing is to help those who have the MONOPOLY.

You know, I like to drink a glass of wine, maybe two, but no more than that. You know why? Because it makes me SICK! With drugs is the same thing.

But don’t panic! This is only my opinion and I can’t make policy. I do understand that the countries of the world have a “no drugs” policy and I respect that and so do the Afghanistan feudal lords.

Cheers!!!

PS. I also used to smoke cigarettes, the regular ones that one can buy in the shop. I quit years ago. You know why? Because I was burning my money, was bad to my health and the habit was making me, my cloths and my flat to stink. But then again, I can put 2 and 2 together...

Of course there is much to do against drug dealers in the world, but what happened last weekend in Rio was not a war against drug dealers,
it was a war against the parallel power that drug dealers have in the favelas.

Congratulations to the armed forces, police and the population in Rio that worked together to extinguish those evil people from the favelas.

I think this report missed the central issue. The UPP's and the latest war operations are just mis-en-scene, a marketing thing. Cabral is a populist and is happy to provide simple, but wrong answers to the very complex problems that exist in Rio. Now that his "security" policy has proved a complete fiasco, Cabral and his staff are trying to salvage it with grandiose operations and over optimistic press releases... And to say that Dilma considers the Rio security policy the standard to be rolled out through the whole of Brazil, gives an idea of how little she understands of public safety policies... poor Rio, poor Brazil.

Cabral has already announced that the military will stay in Morro do Alemão until there is a UPP present. 2007 should not repeat. Obviously the UPP is not ready yet as the occupation of Alemão is way ahead of schedule.

Good job to the police and authorities. Bad job to The Economist for thinking that this means "Time's up" for the bad guys. They just melted away and disappeared and will be back or move to another favela - there's just way too much money easily had by doing what they do.

If this was really going to be a success you'd have to make jobs for the people in the slum, allow them to get their belongings and move them into temporary housing, raze the whole slum and rebuild it according to some sort of plan with streets and avenues and community amenities and modern housing and whatnot. But the problem is way too huge to do that on the scale at which it's needed. So the pendulum swings again.

Good start though. Good on the people who made this push happen. Hopefully that'll lead to the next push being a little easier and the next one after that a little easier and maybe over time they can chip away at the mentality and the drug use and the gangs and the social distortion (...far behind) that pervade Brazilian social and political and economic realities.

Dear Sir of The Economist
@Dwrig
Well , Do you think that moving a full armed Armored cavalry group of dozens of heavier tanks and armored assault vehicles backed by 3 thousands of heavier armed well trained soldiers (from Marine navy &Airborne assault troops army ( By the way : in Brazil , Military Policeman (PM) are soldiers not policeman at all , no mistake on that!) against gangs of less of one hundred of (cruel and brutal , of course!) scattered black delinquents hidden in the Complex Alemão shantytown ,scaring the population to death is something that may be called a policemen operation to be proud about?. Definitively no!(see my first comment)
What is really happening is just a rearrangement of power among the "Corruption on Rio "!.Not a combat against it !.believe me !.
Related to the point if Brazil as a whole is moving in the right direction , the answer is clear : I am afraid not , unless Brazil and especially the Racist and Apartheid Carioca society become a place where loyalty , respect , full recognizing of the individual merit , and that hard work of a full life pay!. What do you think about FIFA Brazilians officers with a secret account on paradise fiscal on UE with hundreds of millions of Euros received on Bribe to "Bring” Olympics to Rio de Janeiro ?.Scoundrels and mobs of higher political level are just using Olympics and Cup and promises on infrastructures constructions that will never be done on slums to make another pillage on the public money of all Brazilians .That is all !.